BSW Wealth Partners Buys 46 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $282.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.06. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.34 and a 52 week high of $296.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.09, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $725.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VRSK shares. Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $279.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total transaction of $57,298.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,471,535.92. This trade represents a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total value of $286,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,163 shares in the company, valued at $15,517,157.87. This trade represents a 1.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,490 shares of company stock valued at $1,541,570. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics and technology solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. It offers policy language, prospective loss costs, policy writing and rating rules, and various underwriting solutions for risk selection and segmentation, pricing, and workflow optimization; property- and auto- specific rating and underwriting information solutions that allows clients to understand, quantify, underwrite, mitigate, and avoid potential loss for risks; catastrophe modeling solutions, which enables companies to identify, quantify, and plan for the financial consequences of catastrophes for use by insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, financial institutions, and governments.